Meet Your Hosts

Management & Front Desk

Victor Julio Mora
Monteverde Lodge
Manager

We are delighted to have Victor Julio back as Manager of Monteverde Lodge after a 3 year absence. We have a long history of service with Victor Julio; he started working at the lodge almost 20 years ago.

Born and raised in the town of San Rafael, Victor Julio and his nine brothers and sisters grew up on a coffee farm. Life was defined by coffee it's seasons and the land.

When he first came to work at the lodge his wife Myra was pregnant with their first son and he urgently needed a job. He started helping out in the dining room serving water and busing tables, he also had the responsibility of keeping all of the public areas neat and clean.

Victor Julio worked for over 10 years in the Bar & Restaurant serving drinks, wine and meals often playing his guitar and singing to our guests either for their birthdays or offering a deep voiced serenade of Costa Rican songs around the fireplace.

He then went on to be the Administrative Assistant for two years and when he left 3 years ago; he had been Manager for 2 years. Victor Julio left with the dream of opening a new business, a small restaurant and bar in the community of San Rafael where he lives. He says that the time spent with his wife and sons has been fantastic. He's thoroughly enjoyed teaching the boys to mix drinks, cook and wait tables. Just about the time that he decided it was time to leave the new business to the boys and his wife Mayra, we called him and asked him if he would be interested in coming back. We are delighted that he accepted.

His message to people considering a visit to Monteverde Lodge & Gardens: "When you visit Monteverde, not only will you experience an extraordinary natural environment, you will experience the service of a very talented team of individuals who will go above and beyond to give you a fantastic vacation".

Cindy Olivares Rodriguez
Assistant Manager

Cindy was born and raised in Monteverde, she graduated from the Santa Elena High School and is now taking general courses at the UNED (National University at a Distance)

She has only worked for Monteverde Lodge & Gardens for a short time; and says that what has impressed her most is the level of service that is offered to guests. Her experience living and working in Monteverde has come in very handy and she is happy when she is able to give clients advice about how to wisely spend their time here.

Cindy is especially fond of the children that stay at the lodge and remembers one little girl that accompanied her in the reception for an entire morning. "She will be a great receptionist someday".

When she's not at the lodge Cindy loves to bake and her co-workers think she makes delicious brownies. She also enjoys spending time with her mother and her brothers and sister and she reads books on how to be a better person.

Her message to people considering a visit to Monteverde Lodge & Gardens: "You will feel right at home at Monteverde Lodge, we will do everything possible to make your stay special".

Francine Rodriguez
Receptionist

Francine was born and raised in the Monteverde region. She finished High School in the town of San Rafael, 40 minutes from Monteverde. After High School she wisely went on to study English at the Boston College and the INA, (Costa Rica's National Institute of Learning) in San Jose.

What Francine enjoys the most about working at the Front Desk of Monteverde Lodge is the opportunity to interact with people from all over the world, this has given her insight to different cultures and customs.

Francine's daily goal is to know each guest by name and to have at least a short conversation to ask how they are doing and if there is anything she can do to make their stay more enjoyable.

In her free time Francine enjoys doing line drawings in pencil, playing soccer, running and listening to music or watching movies.

Her message to people considering a visit to Monteverde Lodge & Gardens: "I know that there are hotels in Costa Rica that may have better building than we do but if you want to stay at a lodge where you will be treated like family, stay at Monteverde Lodge & Gardens."

Yahaira Brenes Cruz
Receptionist

Yahaira has been working at the lodge for just six months, but is proud to have grown up in and still call Monteverde home today. She has also lived abroad, both within Costa Rica and in the United States.

She says a long stay in Pennsylvania played a large role in helping her to develop both English language skills and a sense of adventure. At age 21 she applied for a program that placed Costa Ricans desirous of studying another language in touch with employers in the United States. There she worked in a restaurant and shared an apartment with fellow young Costa Ricans.

Although Monteverde has a cooler climate than much of Costa Rica, she says she still found the cold and snow of Lancaster, Pennsylvania to be quite a shock. She stayed for two years and traveled frequently, visiting different beaches, but especially major cities, such as Washington and New York. After her two years she returned to Costa Rica, but not yet to her home town, first spending a year putting her new found language skills to work in a travel agency in La Fortuna, a happening town at the foot of the Arenal Volcano. Upon returning to her mountain home, she worked with the Reservations department of the Monteverde Reserve, before coming over to work with us at the Lodge one year later. Yahaira says she had been looking to work with Costa Rica Expeditions because she felt it was a company that would offer her good opportunities without requiring that she leave Monteverde.

Yahaira enjoys working at the lodge because of its unique location, which she says lets her enjoy being in the forest every day, while at the same time being conveniently close to the center of Santa Elena. When not behind the lodge desk, Yahaira is often mountain biking around Monteverde, near but not within many of the national parks. Out from the desk and off her bike, she enjoys spending time with her two year old daughter and her husband, reading all types of different books, and playing her guitar. Her husband works in the Monteverde Reserve, assisting with different biological research done in the park.

To people considering a visit to the Monteverde Region Yahaira wants to convey the following suggestion: "If you are just looking for luxury this may not be the place for you, but if you are interested in a cozy mountain hotel, with access to incredible biodiversity, then yes, you should visit us in Monteverde.".

Viviana Suarez
Receptionist

Born on August 18, 1994, Viviana is the granddaughter of, Javier Castro who as a young man, moved to Monteverde over 80 years ago. He was looking for work on the dairy farms that Monteverde was known for.

Don Javier found plenty of work; he also found his wife, Emelida Leiton, she still lives in Monteverde. Together they raised a family. Viviana’s mother is one of Don Javier and Doña Emelida’s children; she worked at a well-known hotel and restaurant in Monteverde, where she raised Viviana. Spending her childhood at this hotel and restaurant helps explain how day to day interaction with guests comes naturally to her.

What Viviana enjoys the most about working at the lodge is the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, learn about their customs and teach them about ours. She makes it her personal goal to be kind, make them feel at home even if they are in a foreign county and to do everything possible to make their stay in Monteverde special.

Viviana is currently studying Business Administration at the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica, during her free time she enjoys working out, reading, hiking and eating great food.